playboy

American

[pley-boi] / ˈpleɪˌbɔɪ /

noun

a man who pursues a life of pleasure without responsibility or attachments, especially one who is of comfortable means.

playboy British

/ ˈpleɪˌbɔɪ /

noun

a man, esp one of private means, who devotes himself to the pleasures of nightclubs, expensive holiday resorts, female company, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of playboy

First recorded in 1620–30; play + boy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Before that date he was “millionaire playboy Jeffrey Epstein.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

It is about a con-man taking on the identity of a wealthy playboy.

From BBC • Aug. 8, 2025

By the encore, he'd given up all pretence of being a high-rolling playboy.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2025

Everyone knows that his cultivated image of a wealthy playboy who wined and dined beautiful women like he was some kind of matinee idol is another one of his lies.

From Salon • May 10, 2024

Todd had always been, to Zeitoun’s mind, a bit of a wanderer, something of a playboy.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023